Scripture focus: Joshua 1:1-9
Disclaimer: Please forgive any typographical, grammatical, and/or content errors in the following notes. They are not meant to be an exact transcription, but rather a helpful guide for those who appreciate the written word along with the spoken word. If you have any questions on what was taught, feel free to reach out on our ‘Contact Us’ page.
Are you going through a transition in your life or can you remember a time in your past when you went through a transition? Perhaps it was a new job, season of life, new child, health change, etc. Many emotions, including fear, oftentime accompany transition. Today’s society is stricken with fear. It’s not surprising that the command we see with the most frequency in the Bible is “Fear not!” How do we walk without fear? How did God meet Joshua’s fear and what can we take away from the Word about how God meets us in our fear?
Read Joshua 1:1-9
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
We see Moses was a legendary leader and left big shoes for Joshua to fill. It was probably very intimidating. God’s people were in a period of complacency and needed strong leadership to take them from failures in the past to the promises of the future. Athletic director Frank Howard was once asked if he would be willing to add a rowing team (i.e. crew) to the lineup at Clemson. He said, “We aren’t gonna have no sport where ya sit down and go backwards.” At a time when the Isrealites are down an entire generation without an acre to their name, Joshua’s task is to encourage them not to sit down and go backwards. Missionary David Livingstone said, “I will go anywhere with God so long as it’s forward.” Joshua was in a position to look back at Moses, look around at the challenge, and look down on himself. During a transition we are in a position to look at our past, the challenges around us, and become overwhelmed by our inadequacies. This is where God’s plan comes in…
God’s Plan
- The Promises in the Plan – Unlike us, Joshua and the Israelites were operating under the Old Covenant. Some of the promises God made to Joshua and the Israelites don’t apply to us anymore because of the promise-keeping nature of our God and the completing work of Christ. God dealt directly with the people according to how they responded to the Law given on Mt. Sinai. Today we live under the New Covenant. Hebrews 8:13 tells us that in speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. Christ has died as the only perfect sacrifice for sin and given us an eternal inheritance by rising again. We are free from works-based salvation under the Law and saved by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8). God’s plan was to show us through the Old Testament law that we are sinners and greatly in need of a savior. By giving his son, Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins he redeemed us from a debt we could not pay on our own. Even though the Old Covenant has been fulfilled by Christ and we are under the New Covenant we still have much to learn from God’s work in the past!
- The Parts in the Plan – One very important key to unlocking a fearless walk during transitions is to recognize that God executes his plan over generations. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and now us – we are to faithfully walk out our small parts without fear or dismay that we won’t get to personally experience the big picture. This principle can be seen through our text. From Joshua 1:2-5, there are some important cross-references where we see some “small” parts of God’s bigger plan:
- Genesis 12:1- Abraham’s part of the plan was to leave behind an old land in order to receive the gift of the new land. God first promises the land that the Israelites are about to possess here: Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
- Deuteronomy 11:24-25 – Moses’ part of the plan was to unwrap the gift of the land. Joshua’s part is to activate the gift of the land. God repeats to Joshua what was said to Moses: 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.
- The Point of the Plan – God’s faithfulness endures to all generations! (see Psalm 119:90a) Our work for the Lord in someone’s life, whether it be through sharing the gospel or discipleship, is absolutely vital; however, we may never get to see the breakthrough point. That may come years down the road. We can’t get frustrated if we don’t witness the fruition of God’s plan in their lives or our lives. He is faithful and we must be in our parts as well! On the other hand, perhaps we will get to see a particular gift from God activated in our lives – praise God for those moments and those brothers and sisters who have faithfully gone before us working toward those moments. The point is if we trust God’s plan, we don’t have to fear our inadequacies and shortcomings because He is faithful and will use seeds that you’ve planted (or watered, fertilized, pruned, etc.) to glorify Himself in the beautiful, complete picture.
God’s Precept
- Mission Instructions – How can we be faithful in our part of God’s plan? By understanding God’s character. How can we understand God’s character? By reading His Word – His precepts. From Joshua 1:6-8, we see that we’ll have the greatest likelihood of success and accomplishing our mission here on earth if we read, study, and meditate on God’s Word day and night. The first key to being effective in any mission is to understand what the mission is. God gives us our mission – 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, emphasis added to point out the parallel with the Joshua command). This mission of discipleship is to be done in community.
- Mission Success – It’s important to pause on God’s mentions of success in Joshua 1:7&8. God’s definition of success is far different than the world’s definition of success. We should not go down the prosperity gospel path that tells us we’ll reap earthly treasure and rewards for following God’s plan and mission. Translated from Hebrew, the word ‘success’ means ‘wisdom, insight, understanding.’ A great scripture reference to learn about Godly success vs. worldly success is James 3:13-18.
- Mission Mindset – Orthodoxy means right thinking. God exhorted Joshua not to turn to the left or right and to be careful to do according to all that is written in the Word. Orthodoxy is important because it leads to orthopathia (right feeling) and orthopraxy (right practice). Matthew Millen expounds upon these three Os further in this sermon: A Disciplined New Year. The point is that God wants Joshua and the Israelites to be mentally prepared for the physical battles that are to come. Satan is striking out in fear in the minds of Joshua and the Israelites. He strikes in fear in our minds where we encounter battles every day. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “ For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” We are at war and we need to know how to speak truth to those around us who are paralyzed by fear. This is why we invest time and energy studying God’s Word. It draws us nearer to God where we can reflect on his nature and allow him to transform our hearts and walk in wisdom, insight, and understanding and use the Word as a sword as we fight for the lives of our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and children.
- Mission Challenge – Are you in God’s Word? If you don’t know God’s Word how can you lead your children in the way they should go so that when they are old they will not depart from it? If you don’t know God’s Word how can you show your lost friend that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life? If you don’t know God’s word how can you encourage the person in the cubicle next to you that they have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. If you are not regularly deep in God’s Word how will you be able to tell your unbelieving friend how to access that spring of water that will never leave them thirsting again? When we know God’s Word we can use it in battle to gain victory over fear.
God’s Promise
- His Presence – God promises Joshua his presence in Joshua 1:5&9. This is a repetition of the same promise given through Moses in Deuteronomy 31:6&8. When God gives us a command it is accompanied by the promise of His presence and therefore his power in our lives! When God asks us to do something, he’s assuring us that he can resource it. He can underwrite it. We need to trust Him! God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous to go to war with the descendants of giants. If Joshua tried to fight them under his own power, he would be crushed.
- Strength in His presence – Joshua needed to lead without fear and in the Lord’s strength. We often hear mantras like “You are enough,” and “You have everything you need to succeed within yourself.” Have you ever done anything in your life motivated by selfishness or in your own strength that just ended up in fear or anxiety? We are not enough and what is within us falls desperately short. We have the first biblical example of this with the devil and Eve in the garden where Satan used these mantras (i.e. lies) as temptations which had their root in pride and manifested in selfishness and fear. They left Eve naked and afraid. Joshua was encouraged against these lies. In practice, Joshua eyewitnessed God’s powerful intercession and presence in the Battle of the Amalekites. In the past, he knew Moses spoke against these lies in Exodus 33:15-16 : “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
- Courage in His presence – What giants are you staring down today? Not only can we call God our Jehovah Nissi, like Joshua in battle, we have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to rule over fear. This combines with the hope of Jesus Christ’s final return to end all battles in the grand plan of salvation when God will return to be with us. Revelation 21:3-7 says, “3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ 6 And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’”
Conclusion
Our identity is in Christ! Knowing our own identity is informed and superseded by knowing God’s identity. John Calvin once said, “God is always like Himself.” God is steadfast, unchanging, unmoving, and immeasurable. Whereas we change throughout the years and even throughout a day, God is fixed and always desires to be in relationship with us. God chose to name Himself as an incomplete sentence – I AM – our tendency is to complete the sentence, but God always is. Are you hungry? He is the bread. Are you in the dark? He is the light. Are you searching? He is the truth. Are you lost? He is the way. Are you in need? He is the shepherd. God always is what we need him to be for all that he has called us to do regardless of our challenges. God is always like Himself and when we put our faith in Him – his promises are his presence and power in our lives. These allow us to courageously conquer our fear at its root because walking in faith is in direct opposition to walking in faith. It’s only by walking in faith that we’ll accomplish our mission, like we see in the book of Joshua.
- Matt Potter’s Personal Testimony on God’s Plan, Precept, and Promise – “A couple years ago I was in a business relationship with an ex-partner. He was worth a lot of money and was a ‘giant’ in my life. Some things happened in the business and I was persecuted for my faith. My boss came to me and said, “Matt, I’ve heard you’ve been bringing your bible to the office and it’s offensive. Either you can stop doing that or we’re going to have an issue. Can you comply?” It was very unsettling to me because I had spent quite a bit of time, blood, sweat, and tears in building this business. In that moment I knew I had a choice to make – Was I going to follow God or was I going to follow man? Was I going to trust in God’s plan for my life even though I didn’t know what was going to be on the other side of this decision? So I said, “I can comply, but I won’t,” and I hung up the phone on him – I had never done that to someone before. The next day I went into the office and immediately turned in my resignation and I remember driving home from New Jersey with that feeling and emotion of fear during transition. It hit me hard – What did I just do? What am I going to do? The next day I got a knock on my door – “Mr. Potter, you have just been served.” I got served a lawsuit for about $900,000. No big deal!” [said humorously and sarcastically]. The fear continued to well up in me about how the plan was unfolding in my life. So the only thing I could do was to go to God’s Word – His precepts. His Word brought me peace that I could then share with my wife and some of my colleagues. I was able to spend time in community with many of the brothers in this room who came around me and supported me. God’s plan was uncertain but I was convicted that I had to trust it and His precepts brought me peace. While we were searching the scriptures, and asking what we were going to do next, my wife and I felt encouraged to be bold and root this all in the promises of God for the future. My wife opened to Judges 6:12 which says, “For the Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” This is how we named the business we’re a part of now. It was rooted in the presence of God. In this business we’ve seen multiple people on the floors of the office hit their knees and accept Christ. Not only do we bring our bibles to the office, but we close our Tuesday meeting in a prayer. I can tell you through my own life that what Joshua experienced is true. God’s plan, his precept, and his promise of His presence were transforming for me in that moment of trial where fear struck. ‘Just as I was with Moses, so I am with you!’ Amen.”